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Chiefs fire Crennel, make no move on GM Pioli
Move follows miserable 2-14 season
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs fired coach Romeo Crennel on Monday but made no move on embattled general manager Scott Pioli despite a 2-14 season marked by blowout losses, fan rebellion and a murder-suicide involving one of their players.
Crennel was fired after one full season as coach, and one day after Kansas City matched the fewest wins in franchise history with an embarrassing 38-3 loss to the Denver Broncos.
"I am embarrassed by the poor product we gave our fans this season, and I believe we have no choice but to move the franchise in a different direction," Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "I will immediately begin the search for the next head coach of the Chiefs. The entire football operation will remain under review, and there may be additional changes to come."
Hunt said that "no final determination has been made" about Pioli's future.
The Chiefs' only victories this season came against New Orleans and Carolina, the latter coming one day after linebacker Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend to death and then drove to the team's practice facility and turned the gun on himself as Crennel and Pioli looked on.
Crennel seemed to know the end was coming Sunday night when he was asked to defend his job and said, "If your criteria is wins and losses, there's not much defense."
Kansas City will have the No. 1 pick in the draft after the most disappointing season in its 53-year history. The only other time the Chiefs finished 2-14 was 2008, the year before Pioli was hired. They were 2-12 in 1977, the only other time they failed to win at least three games.
"Words can't describe it, to be honest with you," cornerback Brandon Flowers said. "We have to do the best we can to block this out and start from scratch next year."
With five players voted to the Pro Bowl last week, there are certainly pieces in place for the Chiefs to make rapid improvement. But four of them were inherited by Pioli's regime, and that haul of Pro Bowl players may have been Crennel's biggest indictment.
The only other teams with at least five players voted to the all-star game made the playoffs.
The Chiefs' inept offense managed 18 touchdowns in 16 games, finished minus-24 in turnover ratio and lost nine times by two touchdowns or more. Along the way, they broke an 83-year-old NFL record by not holding a lead in regulation until their ninth game.
Crennel, whose career record as a head coach is 28-55, was hired in 2010 to be the Chiefs' defensive coordinator. Respected by his players, he was appointed interim coach last December when Pioli fired Todd Haley with three games left in the season.
Crennel immediately brought a sense of stability to a floundering franchise, defeating the previously unbeaten Green Bay Packers and winning at Denver in the season finale — after which, players spontaneously started chanting his name in the visiting locker room.
"That's my guy. Everybody knows that," defensive tackle Shaun Smith said. "That's not only my coach, that's my role model. My father figure. We don't just talk football, we talk life."
With the support of the players, Pioli made Crennel the permanent coach a few weeks later, giving him another opportunity as a head coach after going 24-40 in four seasons with the Browns.
The season wound up being a disappointment from the start.
The Chiefs were blown out by the Falcons in their opener, trounced on the road by the Bills and needed an 18-point comeback to force overtime in their win over the Saints.
Then a stretch of eight consecutive defeats.
Empty seats began to multiply at Arrowhead Stadium, once one of the most intimidating venues in the NFL. An organized fan rebellion paid for banners to be towed behind airplanes asking for Pioli to be fired, and the majority of fans dressed in black for a home game against Cincinnati.
Nothing Crennel did seemed to work, either.
He began the season as the defensive coordinator, but fired himself and turned those duties over to linebackers coach Gary Gibbs. He benched Matt Cassel, in the fourth year of a $63 million contract, and went with Brady Quinn, who played just as poorly the rest of the season.
Injuries were numerous, turnovers plentiful, penalties crippling and blown assignments became the hallmark of a team that was rarely in games into the fourth quarter.
Then came the morning of Dec. 1, when tragedy struck.
Belcher, a part-time starter, shot the mother of his 3-month-old daughter, Kasandra Perkins, multiple times at a home not far from Arrowhead Stadium. The linebacker then sped to the team's practice facility and was confronted by Pioli, who tried to talk him out of more violence.
After thanking Pioli and Crennel for his chance in the NFL, Belcher shot himself in the head.
The Chiefs played the following day against Carolina, and Crennel was praised for the way he stoically led a team in turmoil. Kansas City put together its best performance in a 27-21 victory.
It wound up being their last win, though.
The Chiefs were blown out by Cleveland, shut out by Oakland and beaten by the Colts before an embarrassing season finale against the Broncos.
It was enough to finish Crennel, and enough to put Pioli's future in jeopardy.
"I want our fans to know that I will do everything I can to provide them a dramatically better team," Hunt said, "both next season and in the seasons to come."


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The Skyranger lunged at the subway platform in Delhi, India. Thrusters vectoring down on their gimbals, the big tires taking the impact on thick shocks. The fireteam burst from the landing ramp into the dark and the rain, with Assaulter Edwin "Geronimo" Garcia up front. They saw blood, a fine mist of it along the stairs, a small pool on the landing. The way it reflected the light, you could tell it was fresh. A paper bag blew along the ground as my men slowly tucked into hard cover behind the railway signage. I strained to hear our quarry in the night.
We were not alone. A tall, thin man with round glasses stepped from the shadows across the track. And then came his twin—and his triplicate. Another pair of clones beside a commuter bench were illuminated by a flash of lightning. And then our world was lit green by plasma fire coming from all directions. Kim "Steady" Check, our heavy gunner, set one of the clones inside her holographic sights. The rest of the team had a solid target now and let loose volleys of their own. Metal wilted around my team, chips of concrete flew, but they kept firing into the night.
Consider the audacity of Firaxis Games' Jake Solomon. It's all fine and good to praise X-Com: Enemy Unknown as one of the finest PC games ever made. But to remake it? Many have tried to modernize the game and failed, including series originator Julian Gallop himself. Perhaps the most successful games to follow in X-Com's turn-based tactical footsteps were Valkyria Chronicles and Frozen Synapse, but they never dared to tie combat to base building and a tech tree. Solomon's team went for it, and just to make it harder on themselves, they tacked on the added goal of broadening the game's audience to include console gamers.
They straight up nailed it.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown puts you in control of the eponymous paramilitary organization, tasked with defending the earth from an alien menace. You will take the field in small, tactical engagements fought from an isometric perspective with soldiers that grow unique abilities over time. You will return to your base with fantastic treasures in the form of alien technology, then research your way into driving the alien scum from Earth once and for all. You will have to patiently build an underground base, relentlessly recruit talented engineers and scientists, all while keeping the population of the planet safe and at ease with the growing threat of abduction and xeno-terrorism. These are the same spinning plates found in the classic 1994 game of the same name, and the tensions and the traumas feel very much the same here.
The drama in the new XCOM is not found in managing your logistics to make sure you have enough ammunition day-to-day, but in the last-minute reload under fire, the desperate grenade hurled at a hidden enemy, the rear-guard action that saves your team but costs your best soldier her life. These dramas were in the original X-Com if you took care to look for them, but in this remake they come often and organically to the player.
Firaxis has taken the decision-making process that made the original so addictive and expanded on it, creating a play experience that's much more detailed than the original's endless bug hunts. Limited cash flow can force choices between research in weapons you can't afford to produce and research in life-saving armor you don't have the supplies to build. You will need to go to desperate lengths to capture live aliens, take ludicrous risks to prevent civilian casualties, and charge into the teeth of withering gunfire to defuse deadly bombs. The developers obviously cared enough about the X-Com lineage to put their own mark on it, and their concern shows in every aspect of the game.
Calling the game accessible is not the same as calling the game easy. In fact, the Classic mode is quite challenging. In my first "terror" mission, against an assault by Chryssalids (fast Alien-type razor-clawed parasites), I saw my entire squad wiped out as they desperately retreated to the spawn point. Nearly a dozen hours spent building up those virtual men and women were rendered moot in moments. It was heartbreaking—and true to the original X-Com. Now that I've put 20+ more hours into Normal mode, I'm more comfortable with the system and ready to tackle Classic mode again.
Tragically, the game seems like it was not optimized for the keyboard and mouse. Clicking on the interface feels finicky, and the hotkeys keep moving around on you as you play. Overwatch—an action that tells your soldiers to fire during the alien's turn, and perhaps the most-pressed key during any engagement—shifts between four different keys depending on who you're controlling, but always remains on the Y button when using an Xbox 360 controller. Likewise, the zoom key is easier to reach on the controller (left trigger) than on the keyboard ('G'? Really?).
And you'll need to zoom quite a bit, because the game's camera is not perfect. It feels like Firaxis shot a movie with the wrong lens on. You can hardly see what's going on at times because the overall view is too narrow, and zooming back from the action during your planning phase is required to plot your advance. The zoom is especially tight on the death animations. Instead of an artful pirouette, you're often treated to little more than a gibbous splash and an alien limb flailing out of frame. It feels as though the developers were a bit ashamed of the size of their compact maps and tried to hide the issue with a narrow field of view.
But the maps are laid out well, and each of the 70 hand-made scenarios tells a story—a high-rise rooftop under construction in Tokyo with exposed scaffolds and tarps blowing in the wind, a paper company in London with the portrait of the CEO in the lobby, a burned out forest in a cold Russian swamp.
Aside from the camera, the game's presentation is larded with a luxury that strategy gamers will be largely unaccustomed to, reflected in everything from the detailed environments and beautiful art to the engrossing sound design. (The game looks a bit too much like a Gears of War tactics game with a bit of Mass Effect thrown in for my tastes—perhaps an artifact of the Unreal engine it's based on.)
This remake is also notable for the sheer variety available in both gameplay and visual design. Missions vary from investigating traditional UFO crash sites to bomb defusing missions and VIP escorts. The game will reward multiple playthroughs.
In the end, this is not the X-Com that everyone was expecting. It's more. It's better. If you're merely looking for a highly competent re-skin of the original X-Com, keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming Xenonauts from fledgling developer Goldhawk Interactive. This XCOM: Enemy Unknown stands apart from the original in its presentation, but it shares a common, classic soul.
The Good:
- Snappy, immersive tactical gameplay replaces the slog genre veterans are used to
- Love for the universe's lore—the game has respectful fan-service in spades
- Subtly expanded tech tree with fewer dead ends and more incremental growth
- Unique soldier roles like Assault, Sniper, and Heavy give richness and diversity to soldier growth
- Lavish environmental detail and dynamic animations
- Multiple objectives from battle to battle
- Challenging difficulty settings, including an Ironman mode where there is no going backwards to a previous game save
- Functional multiplayer scrimmage mode
The Bad:
- Narrow field of view and some occasional oddities of the camera
- Atrocious air battles with alien craft
The Ugly:
- Fixed isometric perspectives vs. a free-floating camera
- Poor implementation of keyboard and mouse controls. It's time to get an Xbox controller for your computer if you don't have one already
- Over-simplified base building mechanics are too abstract for their own good
Verdict: Buy it.
Listing image by 2K Games / Firaxis

subset: commoncrawl


text: Plano-Convex (PCX) Lenses have a positive focal length, making them ideal for collecting and focusing light in imaging applications. They are also useful in a variety of applications involving emitters, detectors, lasers, and fiber optics. Coated versions have optimum light transmission. Available in a wide variety of diameters and focal lengths.


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Accepting Islamic law in exchange for peace leaves many uncertain, fearful.
ISTANBUL, March 27 (Compass Direct News) – Just over a month since Pakistan's fertile Swat Valley turned into a Taliban stronghold where sharia (Islamic law) rules, the fate of the remaining Christians in the area is uncertain.
Last month, in an effort to end a bloody two-year battle, the Islamabad administration struck a deal with Taliban forces surrendering all governance of Swat Valley in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Sources told Compass that after the violence that has killed and displaced hundreds, an estimated 500 Christians remain in the area. Traditionally these have been low-skilled workers, but younger, more educated Christians work as nurses, teachers and in various other professions.
The sole Church of Pakistan congregation in Swat, consisting of 40 families, has been renting space for nearly 100 years. The government has never given them permission to buy land in order to build a church building.
An associate pastor of the church in central Swat told Yousaf Benjamin of the National Commission for Justice and Peace that with the bombing of girls schools at the end of last year, all Christian families migrated to nearby districts. After the peace deal and with guarded hope for normalcy and continued education for their children, most of the families have returned to their homes but are reluctant to attend church.
The associate pastor, who requested anonymity, today told sources that "people don't come to the church as they used to come before." He said that although the Taliban has made promises of peace, the Christian community has yet to believe the Muslim extremists will hold to them.
"The people don't rely on Taliban assurances," said Benjamin.
Last week the associate pastor met with the third in command of the main Taliban militant umbrella group in Pakistan, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Kari Abdullah, and requested land in order to build a church. Abdullah reportedly agreed, saying that Islam is a religion of peace and equality, and that his group intended to provide equal opportunities to the religious communities of Swat.
The Catholic Church in Swat is located in a school compound that was bombed late last year. Run by nuns and operated under the Catholic Church Peshawar Diocese, the church has been closed for the last two years since insurgents have been fighting government led forces, source said.
Parliamentarian Shahbaz Bhatti said Christians and the few Hindus in Swat valley have lived under terror and harassment by the Taliban since insurgents began efforts to seize control of the region. He met with a delegation of Christians from Swat last month who said they were concerned about their future, but Bhatti said only time will tell how the changes will affect Christians.
"The Christian delegation told me that they favor the peace pact if indeed it can bring peace, stability and security to the people living there," he said. "But they also shared their concern that if there is enforcement of sharia, what will be their future? But we will see how it will be implemented."
Although there have been no direct threats against Christians since the establishment of the peace accord, some advocates fear that it may only be a matter of time.
"These days, there are no reports of persecution in Swat," Lahore-based reporter Felix Qaiser of Asia News told Compass by phone, noting the previous two years of threatening letters, kidnappings and aggression against Christians by Islamic extremists. "But even though since the implementation of sharia there have been no such reports, we are expecting them. We're expecting this because other faiths won't be tolerated."
Qaiser also expressed concern about the treatment of women.
"They won't be allowed to move freely and without veils," he said. "And we're very much concerned about their education there."
In the past year, more than 200 girls schools in Swat were reported to have been burned down or bombed by Islamic extremists.
Remaining girls schools were closed down in January but have been re-opened since the peace agreement in mid-February. Girls under the age of 13 are allowed to attend.
Since the deal was struck, seven new sharia judges have been installed, and earlier this month lawyers were trained in the nuances of Islamic law. Those not trained are not permitted to exercise their profession. As of this week, Non-Governmental Organizations are no longer permitted in the area and vaccinations have been banned.
"These are the first fruits of Islamic law, and we're expecting worse things – Islamic punishment such as cutting off hands, because no one can dictate to them," Qaiser said. Everything is according to their will and their own interpretation of Islamic law."
Launch Point for Taliban
Analysts and sources on the ground have expressed skepticism in the peace deal brokered by pro-Taliban religious leader Maulana Sufi Muhammad, who is also the leader of Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi. The insurgent, who has long fought for implementation of sharia in the region, has also fought alongside the Taliban against U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
He was imprisoned and released under a peace deal in April 2008 in an effort to restore normalcy in the Swat Valley. Taliban militants in the Swat area are under the leadership of his son-in-law, Maulana Fazlullah.
The agreement to implement sharia triggered alarm around the world that militants will be emboldened in the northwest of Pakistan, a hotbed for Taliban and Al-Qaeda extremists fighting Western forces in Afghanistan and bent on overthrowing its government.
Joe Grieboski of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy said the peace deal makes Talibanization guaranteed by law, rendering it impossible to return to a liberal democracy or any guarantee of fundamental rights.
"The government in essence ceded the region to the Taliban," said Grieboski. "Clerical rule over the region will fulfill the desires of the extremists, and we'll see the region become a copy of what Afghanistan looked like under Taliban rule."
This can only mean, he added, that the Taliban will have more power to promulgate their ideology and power even as the Pakistani administration continues to weaken.
"Unfortunately, this also creates a safe launching off point for Taliban forces to advance politically, militarily and ideologically into other areas of the country," said Grieboski. "The peace deal further demonstrates the impotence of [Asif Ali] Zardari as president."
Grieboski said the peace deal further demonstrates that Pakistani elites – and President Zardari in particular – are less concerned about fundamental rights, freedom and democracy than about establishing a false sense of security in the country.
"This peace deal will not last, as the extremists will demand more and more, and Zardari and the government have placed themselves in a weakened position and will once again have to give in," said Grieboski.
Sohail Johnson, chief coordinator of advocacy group Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan, said he fears that militants in Swat will now be able to freely create training centers and continue to attack the rest of Pakistan.
"They will become stronger, and this will be the greatest threat for Christians living in Pakistan," said Johnson.
Thus far the government has not completely bowed to Taliban demands for establishment of full sharia courts, and it is feared that the insurgents may re-launch violent attacks on civilians until they have full judicial control.
"The question of the mode of implementation has not yet been decided, because the Taliban want their own qazis [sharia judges] and that the government appointed ones should quit," said lawyer Khalid Mahmood, who practices in the NWFP.
Mahmood called the judiciary system in Swat "collapsed" and echoed the fear that violence would spread in the rest of the country.
"They will certainly attack on the neighboring districts," he said.
Earlier today, close to the Swat Valley in Khyber, a suicide bomber demolished a mosque in Jamrud, killing at least 48 people and injuring more than 150 others during Friday prayers. Pakistani security officials reportedly said they suspected the attack was retaliation for attempts to get NATO supplies into Afghanistan to use against Taliban fighters and other Islamist militants.
Report from Compass Direct News


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Handmade Herend porcelain, from Hungary, handpainted with 24k gold accents.
Measures 2¾" w x 1⅞" d x 2" h.
Item #: BVH306114096
Family Owned
Scully & Scully opened its doors in 1934, aspiring to provide the world's finest home furnishings and gifts in a gracious atmosphere.
We travel across the globe throughout the year to bring you the world's most beautiful handmade pieces.
White Glove Delivery
Handcrafted furniture is carefully brought into your home or office, unpacked, inspected, and placed in the location of your choice.


text:
My shopping cart
Your cart is currently empty.Continue Shopping
Head/Combo/Cabinet: Combo
Amp Electronics: Tube Amp
Speaker Configuration: 4x10
Speaker Details: CTS
Power Tubes : 6L6 / 5881
Modifications and Repairs / Playability: Amp looks all original except a couple of resistors and the power transformer, which dates to 1975.
Serial Number: A61295
You read that right! Any orders over $49 ship for free!*
The CME Difference: CME's mission is to make sure your shipment will arrive quickly, carefully, and correctly. We realize that the online ordering of guitars and instruments, in general, can be a nerve-racking experience. We are here to put your mind at ease and make your transaction smooth and enjoyable! As musicians ourselves, we want to make sure everything gets to you the way it should, every time.
Most orders ship the same or next day: We greatly appreciate your patience, and are working hard to fulfill all requests as quickly as possible, while practicing recommended safety guidelines.
Our Bottom line: We care! This is something we take very seriously, because it's what you deserve. Our shipping, sales, and customer service teams are always striving to create the best experience for you. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, we want to know.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to firstname.lastname@example.com, or call us directly at 773-525-7773.
*Special exceptions do apply.
We're all musicians here at Chicago Music Exchange and we want you to love the gear you get from us. We understand that sometimes you get a piece of gear that doesn't work out for you. That's why we offer an easy return policy to take the stress out of purchasing from us.
If you decide you'd like to return an item, please contact your Sales Rep, chat us, or give us a call.
If you placed your order on Amazon or eBay, we advise issuing the return request from your account on the platform of purchase - our Customer Service team will process a refund upon receipt of the item(s).
Most new items may be returned within 30 days of delivery and most vintage & used items may be returned within 3 days of delivery for a full refund, exchange, or store credit. Please pack the product safely for the journey back to us. If the product was shipped for free, the charge will be deducted from refund, unless the reason for the return is outside normal circumstances.
Please contact us as soon as possible if your order was received incorrectly, damaged, or defective. Most times we will give you an RA number (Return Authorization). Why is that number important? This will allow us to speed up the process of the return.
We reserve the right to charge a restocking fee based on the return condition. Some items we just can't take back for returns, due to a one time function like strings or drums heads and other times it's not sanitary to do so with microphones or harmonicas. If you aren't sure if what you bought falls into a category like this, call us (773) 525-7773!
We strive to get your return processed quickly. Most of the time we have it done within two business days. Funds going back to credit cards usually takes two to four business days. CME strives to make sure all customers are happy with their experience. It is our priority to provide great service along with great gear. We always want to be helpful, and open to your feedback. Please let us know your thoughts! If you have any questions, we're here for you!
Feel free to email us at firstname.lastname@example.com or give us a call at (773) 525-7773.


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Bones Season Finale: Will Booth and Brennan Get Their Happy Ending?
Mortality is definitely on Dr. Brennan's mind on the Season 8 finale of Bones.
After watching Cam (Tamara Taylor) almost lose her boyfriend on the Fox drama's penultimate episode, Brennan (Emily Deschanel) is more focused than ever on making sure Booth (David Boreanaz) comes home alive at the end of the day. "The outbreak put a seed in Brennan's mind about how delicate our lives are," Deschanel tells TVGuide.com. "She can't help but internalize ... how devastating it would be to lose Booth. That ... plays a big part in the season finale."
Spoilers! Get scoop on 39 must-watch finales
And Brennan has a good reason to be scared. On Monday's finale (8/7c, Fox), serial killer Christopher Pelant (guest star Andrew Leeds) is back and he's killing FBI agents with the help of an accomplice. One possible suspect: religious cult member Zane Reynolds (Beau Knapp), who holds quite a grudge against the FBI.
"There is a connection to Booth's past," executive producer Stephen Nathan says about the case in the finale. "We find out about some of his work at the FBI that we didn't know about. And it appears as if the victimshave a close connection to Booth."
Even more alarming, Pelant is staging crime scenes to mirror previous cases Sweets (John Francis Daley) has written about throughout his career. So, who is the real target? Although the finale will reveal another layer of Pelant's game, don't expect a total resolution of that story. "There's huge things that happen, but there's a lot left to question for Season 9," Deschanel says. "Some questions are answered, but there are still lots of questions, especially about Pelant."
Exclusive Bones first look: Is Brennan changing her mind about aarriage?
But perhaps the biggest question for fans is whether Booth and Brennan will come any closer to marriage, a topic that's reared its head several times in recent episodes. "The notion of marriage is again brought up in the finale," Nathan teases. "That's been a big part of the past season and a half and we would be remiss if we didn't examine it in the finale. If you thought the pot was stirred [this season], the pot... overflows and messes up the kitchen floor in the season finale."
Does that mean Brennan, who has spent much of the season wrestling against her scientific rationale, may finally give into her emotions? "There are big changes happening to Brennan," Deschanel says. "People can go their whole lives and never change who they are, but Brennan has really done work to change who she is. And circumstances in life have changed her without her intention."
So, will Brennan finally pop the question? "Brennan may be open to things she wasn't open to in the past," Deschanel teases. "Brennan has come a long way in how she views Booth and possibly how she views marriage. She definitely takes some action in regards to her future with Booth."
Bones' Season 8 finale airs Monday at 8/7c on Fox.
View original Bones Season Finale: Will Booth and Brennan Get Their Happy Ending? at TVGuide.com
Other Links From TVGuide.com


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Morning Minutes: July 9
Word of the Day
lese majesty LEZ MAJ-uh-stee, LEEZ (noun) a crime, especially high treason, committed against the sovereign power; an offense that violates the dignity of a ruler; an attack on any custom, institution, belief, etc., held sacred or revered by numbers of people. - www.dictionary.com
Website of the Day
Need to find someone fast? Pipl has become the most comprehensive people search on the Web, where you can search by email, name, phone number and username.
Number to Know
76.4 million: Baby boomers numbered 76.4 million in 2012 and accounted for about one-quarter of the population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2060, when the youngest of them would be 96 years old, they are projected to number around 2.4 million and represent 0.6 percent of the total population.
This Day in History
July 9, 1868: The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing African-Americans full citizenship and all people in the United States due process of law.
Today's Featured Birthday
Singer-songwriter Jack White (38)
Daily Quote
"The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls." - Pablo Picasso


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The smartphone market ain't what it used to be. Four years ago, Symbian ruled the world—it was totally dominant in every market but three: Japan and China both had strong showings from Linux, and the North American market was split roughly evenly between RIM, Microsoft, and PalmSource. Worldwide, smartphone sales amounted to some 60 to 65 million.
Then Apple came along with the iPhone in 2007 and changed the world.
The iPhone did four things. It showed us what could be done with finger-based user interfaces—that they could be easy to use, easy to type on, flexible, and good-looking. It made smartphones mass-market, consumer-oriented gadgets, breaking them free of their corporate shackles. It showed that smartphones were viable web browsing platforms, just as long as they were equipped with a good browser. And, eventually, it showed that there was a lot of value to be had in integrating an online application store.
Windows Mobile was a solid performer in the old smartphone world, but it never moved into the new, post-iPhone smartphone world. Windows Mobile 6.5, released in May 2009, was a half-hearted attempt to bring the system up-to-date with a finger-friendly home screen and Start menu-type-thing, but the interface was crudely grafted on and plainly unsatisfactory. This wasn't finger-friendly, consumer-friendly, modern smartphone software, and everyone knew it. It didn't halt Windows Mobile's marketshare slide, much less turn it around.
If Microsoft wanted to remain a player in the smartphone market, something would have to change. Windows Phone 7 is that change.
Windows Phone 7 is a smartphone platform that's aimed first and foremost at consumers. It's designed from the ground up for a finger-driven interface. It's built to be clean, attractive, and consistent. The ambition is that it will finally give Microsoft a platform that will enable it to take on the iPhone and Android phones. Virtually everything that Windows Mobile did is now ancient history. Windows Phone 7 ushers in a new era of Microsoft-powered smartphones.
In many ways the hardware is the biggest similarity between Windows Mobile and Windows Phone, because with the new operating system, just as with the old one, Microsoft is leaving the hardware to third parties. Unlike with Windows Mobile, however, the company is being extremely strict about what's allowed and what's not. Every Windows Phone 7 device must meet the minimum specification.
|1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon
|Qualcomm Adreno 200
|Flash storage
|Screen resolution
|800 × 480 (exactly)
|Capacitive multitouch with at least four contact points
|Cellular connectivity
|GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA (HSPA+ optional)
|802.11b/g (802.11n optional), Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, FM radio
|Hardware buttons
|Start, search, back, volume, power, and camera (with half-press focus)
|5 MP, dedicated flash
|A-GPS, accelerometer, compass, proximity, light
|Micro-USB, 3.5mm TRS headphone jack
|Miscellaneous options
|Hardware keyboard, user-accessible microSD slots
This is a high specification; these are premium handsets, so they'll be priced towards the upper end of the spectrum. When Windows Phone 7 was first announced, Microsoft said that at some point after launch, lower resolution 480×320 devices would also be supported, and even further into the future, an as-yet unspecified third resolution/form-factor would also be added.
At the moment, however, all the focus is on the 800×480 models, and personally, I think Microsoft should stick with this for as long as possible before venturing into new designs. The iPhone has demonstrated that you don't need a billion different models to be successful, and by sticking with one resolution, the job for application developers is made a great deal easier.
Even within these constraints, the initial handset partners—Dell, HTC, Samsung, and LG—have a reasonably broad range of options, with screens ranging from 3.5" to 4.3", 8 or 16GB of storage, and one with an 8MP camera. Dell's phone, the Venue Pro, includes a vertical (potrait) slider keyboard, and next year Sprint will release an HTC device, the 7 Pro, which will include a more conventional horizontal (landscape) slider keyboard. We took a quick look at the launch models last week, and you can see our initial thoughts on the UK and US offerings.
Some models appear also to have forward-facing cameras. Windows Phone 7 doesn't presently support video calling, which is unfortunate for those of us in parts of the world where such things have been a feature of the telephony landscape for many years. If this is indeed the case, it may be an indication that video calling is coming sooner rather than later.
The most unique, Windows Phone 7-specific feature of the hardware is the hardware buttons. Although the user interface is predominantly touch-driven, the specification mandates a set of hardware buttons. The power, volume, and camera buttons are self-explanatory; it's the Start, search, and back buttons that will be the hallmark of Windows Phone 7 devices. These mandatory buttons are perhaps the biggest reason why, to the chagrin of many, devices that otherwise ought to live up to the Windows Phone 7 specification such as the HTC HD2, won't be upgradable, and will be lumbered with Windows Mobile 6.5 for the rest of their lives.
The button placement is also defined by Microsoft. The back, Start, and search buttons must be on the front of the phone and in that order (though they can be mechanical or capacitive, or some combination of the two). The volume rocker switch must be on the top of the left-hand side, the power button on the top of the right-hand side, and the camera button on the bottom of the right-hand side.
The 3.5mm headphone jack must also support three buttons, volume up, volume down, and a third to answer calls/initiate voice dialling.
Notably missing from the feature list is support for CDMA and EVDO. CDMA support will arrive next year; at the moment, Windows Phone 7 handsets are GSM-only.
The specification allows for minor variations, but it doesn't allow for any radical deviations. The result is that the handsets are far more similar than they are different, and unless Microsoft substantially liberalizes the rules, it looks like it will be difficult for OEMs to produce any truly exceptional or unusual devices. This is good for application developers, as they have fewer targets to aim for, and it's arguably good for consumers, as it means that they can buy a Windows Phone 7 phone with confidence—if you know your way around one Windows Phone 7 phone, you know your way around them all.
It may, however, be bad for the OEMs, who may find themselves with little ability to differentiate and distinguish themselves from each other. OEMs are allowed to include custom applications, but their ability to stamp their own branding onto phones will be far weaker than it is with Android and was with Windows Mobile. If Windows Phone 7 is anything short of an enormous success, it's easy to see them giving up on the platform.
The model I have is a Samsung Omnia 7, and I'm using Orange, in the UK. The most striking feature of the Omnia 7 is its screen; it's a frankly beautiful 4" Super AMOLED display, whose vibrancy and viewing angles are quite delightful. The version I have has 8 GB of internal storage, though a 16 GB version should also be available.


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House Cleaning Services Royal Palm Beach, FL
My Cleaning Angel matches you with local cleaners to give you the best house cleaning services Royal Palm Beach can offer. Easy & fast online booking in 60 secs!
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If you're moving in to a new home, or moving out of your current house, then just add move in move out cleaning pack.
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We provide an online account for our customers to schedule, manage and track their cleanings. you can login on the top right corner or with our phone app. Or Click here.
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We require our first time customers to be home before and after the job. Show the cleaners around and at the end be present to assure everything is clean to avoid issues. Once you know how services just book online.
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For all bookings, we require a credit or debit card on file to hold and guarantee the reservation. Same as a hotel booking. The card is only charged at the end of the booking when cleaner checks out. You can change you the card on file by loging into your account or by calling our customer service.
When will I be charged ?
A hold is put on the amoumt 24 hours before the cleaning to verify that the card is valid. Payment for the cleaning occurs at 7pm estern time at the end of the day of your cleaning.
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We do have a 48 hour cancellation policy. a $70 fee may apply if you don't respect that policy. We work really hard to make good cleaners available. So if we want to keep good cleaners around we need to pay them also if there is a no shoe.
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100% of the tip amount goes to cleaners. Feel free to give that to them directly cash or you can add it on the booking by logging into your account.
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We work with hundreds of professional local cleaners. If you cleaners goes on vacations we will replace him with someone new. All our professionals are able to provide same quality service.
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DO NOT LEAVE any key with cleaners if we have to replace him for any reason. Less information we have about your home the best. Most customers leave a lockbox if they're not home.
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You can log in into your account to update your booking or make any changes. Remember cancellations fees may apply for 48 hours before.
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For our recurring customer we may be able to provide the same cleaner upon request and also upon cleaner approval. Only for our weekly, bi-weekly or monthly cusotmers.
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We only work with the very best professional and local cleaners. They go through a background check. We want our customers to create a relationship with our cleaners. If you have issues with a cleaners we can rematch you with another cleaner.
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Provide us when you book any instruction on how to enter the proprety. Create specific codes for cleaners.
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Our house cleaning services are priced by the size of your home. Select the size of you home to get pricing. Remember estimates are based on regularly maintain house. Fees may apply when extreme messy.
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Home dusting (furniture etc..) and All Floors vacuumed + mopped
Bathrooms: tub, toilet and sink area thoroughly cleaned and disinfected
Kitchen: Wipe down all counters, backsplash, sink area, spot cleaning the outside of cabinets
Small Appliances (Microwave, coffee machine) In and Out.
Bigger Appliances only outside (Fridge, Oven) but inside can be added.
– Blinds
– Doors
– Ceiling Fans
– Baseboards
How do I know what's been cleaned?
All our cldeaning included our
Home dusting (furniture etc..) and All Floors vacuumed + mopped
Bathrooms: tub, toilet and sink area thoroughly cleaned and disinfected
Kitchen: Wipe down all counters, backsplash, sink area, spot cleaning the outside of cabinets
Small Appliances (Microwave, coffee machine) In and Out.Bigger Appliances only outside (Fridge, Oven) but inside can be add
You can then ADD your Packs and Extras.
Do you offer carpet cleaning?
We do not provide carpet cleaning. We only vacuum carpet with a regular vacuum. We dont do anything outside.
Is there anything you can't do?
We don't do anything outside the home. When there is roaches or feces or blood cleaning will be canceled and the cancelletion fees may apply.


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New pages normally every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Unfortunately there are no updates at the moment. :-( We have an RSS feed and we are on twitter!
Union of Heroes is a proud member on hiatus of the Collective of Heroes!
© 2008 Arne Schulenberg & Eric Wünsche © 2009-20Arne Schulenberg,
Photography: Jens Sundheim (except Interlude 1,& 5 & 7, Short story 1, the first 20 pages of Episode 5 and the interruption of Episode 6), Markus Mielek (first & third& sequence of Episode 7), Illustration: Patrick Soeder, Programming: Christian Noelle, build with TYPO3.
The Menschenleser (Human Reader) © 2008-2020 Michael Constantin
Union of Heroes is a photocomic about superheroes – from Germany. Our photographed heroes experience their adventures in the Ruhr Area of a parallel earth. Sound interesting? That's what it's supposed to be! We do our best to present you, our readers, good entertainment three times a week. Apart from that, please check out the character pages, our link lists and the media section with our buddy icons and avatars, youtube movies, twitter entries and links to our myspace profile and our facebook fanpage.
Happy browsing and stay tuned! Arne


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Bennett-construction.net is using 4 services which we detected on its website. The major ones are Gandi SAS for DNS management, Gandi SAS as Registrar, Gandi SAS for email services and WordPress 4.4.4 as software behind the website The site was offline when this report was compiled on 05 December 2019 18:20. bennett-construction.net is hosted in France and owned by Peter Mason ().
After checking the site records, we found that it is 6 years 12 months old and will expire on 14 June 2017. For more registration details, refer to this section. We didn't find any SSL certificate present on the website which is bad for users privacy. The site has both title and meta description present, which is a good for SEO reasons. Homepage is in English and contain 1 external links.
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Domain Name: BENNETT-CONSTRUCTION.NET Registrar: GANDI SAS Sponsoring Registrar IANA ID: 81 Whois Server: whois.gandi.net Referral URL: Name Server: A.DNS.GANDI.NET Name Server: B.DNS.GANDI.NET Name Server: C.DNS.GANDI.NET Status: clientTransferProhibited Updated Date: 14-jun-2016 Creation Date: 14-jun-2016 Expiration Date: 14-jun-2017 Domain Name: bennett-construction.net Registry Domain ID: 2035379229_DOMAIN_NET-VRSN Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.gandi.net Registrar URL: Updated Date: 2016-06-14T07:12:38Z Creation Date: 2016-06-14T04:32:41Z Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2017-06-14T04:32:41Z Registrar: GANDI SAS Registrar IANA ID: 81 Registrar Abuse Contact Email: Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +33.170377661 Reseller: Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited Status: Domain Status: Domain Status: Domain Status: Registry Registrant ID: Registrant Name: Peter Mason Registrant Organization: Registrant Street: 21 Okehampton Road, London, Greater London Registrant City: London Registrant State/Province: Registrant Postal Code: NW10 3EE Registrant Country: GB Registrant Phone: +44.7857884900 Registrant Phone Ext: Registrant Fax: Registrant Fax Ext: Registrant Email: Registry Admin ID: Admin Name: Peter Mason Admin Organization: Admin Street: 21 Okehampton Road, London, Greater London Admin City: London Admin State/Province: Admin Postal Code: NW10 3EE Admin Country: GB Admin Phone: +44.7857884900 Admin Phone Ext: Admin Fax: Admin Fax Ext: Admin Email: Registry Tech ID: Tech Name: Peter Mason Tech Organization: Tech Street: 21 Okehampton Road, London, Greater London Tech City: London Tech State/Province: Tech Postal Code: NW10 3EE Tech Country: GB Tech Phone: +44.7857884900 Tech Phone Ext: Tech Fax: Tech Fax Ext: Tech Email: Name Server: A.DNS.GANDI.NET Name Server: B.DNS.GANDI.NET Name Server: C.DNS.GANDI.NET Name Server: Name Server: Name Server: Name Server: Name Server: Name Server: Name Server: DNSSEC: Unsigned URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System: For more information on Whois status codes, please visit Reseller Email: Reseller URL: Personal data access and use are governed by French law, any use for the purpose of unsolicited mass commercial advertising as well as any mass or automated inquiries (for any intent other than the registration or modification of a domain name) are strictly forbidden. Copy of whole or part of our database without Gandi's endorsement is strictly forbidden. A dispute over the ownership of a domain name may be subject to the alternate procedure established by the Registry in question or brought before the courts. For additional information, please contact us via the following form:


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Olympics update: Russia's shot at hockey gold goes by the boards
SOCHI, Russia — A Russian hockey team with immense expectations lost its shot at an Olympic title Wednesday at a Winter Games tempered by violence both in the host city and in nearby Ukraine.
Finland beat the Russians 3-1, knocking them out of the quarterfinals and ending their chances of winning a hockey gold medal in front of their own fans.
Defending Olympic champion Canada had a scare from upstart Latvia before a late goal sealed a 2-1 win. The U.S. advanced easily with a 5-2 win over the Czech Republic. The U.S. will meet Canada and Sweden will take on Finland in Friday's semifinals.
Another Russian with great expectations, 15-year-old figure skater Julia Lipnitskaia, fell during the women's short program and finished fifth. Defending gold medalist Yuna Kim of South Korea led the competition, which finishes Thursday.
In downtown Sochi, Cossack militia attacked the Pussy Riot punk group with horsewhips and removed members' trademark ski masks. The confrontation lasted less than three minutes and no one was arrested.
Earlier, Sergei Bubka, the pole vault great who heads the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, urged both sides in Ukraine's political crisis to halt the violence that left at least 25 people dead and 240 injured in Kiev on Tuesday. The crisis centers on divided loyalties in Ukraine between Russia and the West.
"I'm shocked by what is happening in my native country — especially because the violence is taking place during the Olympic Games, the world's most peaceful and democratic event," Bubka said.
On Day 13 of the Sochi Olympics, Norway won the first Olympic mixed relay in biathlon, making Ole Einar Bjoerndalen the most decorated Winter Olympian ever with 13 medals; Norway also won the women's cross-country team sprint, with Finland taking the men's title; Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic denied the Netherlands another speedskating podium sweep; and the Canadian women won the gold in bobsled.
ICE HOCKEY: Finland's win over Russia was not an upset. The Finns had advanced to the semifinals as the fourth seed, while Russia had to win a consolation round game to advance to the final eight. Sweden continued its undefeated run, beating Slovenia 5-0 to advance to the semifinals.
FIGURE SKATING: Kim scored 74.92 points, ahead of Adelina Sotnikova of Russia by 0.28. Carolina Kostner of Italy is third with 74.12. Lipnitskaia, who helped Russia win the team gold on Feb. 9, fell on a triple flip. She was too tearful to speak after her worst performance in months. American champion Gracie Gold was fourth.
ALPINE SKIING: Ligety was 21 when he won his first gold medal in the combined at the 2006 Turin Games. The only other American to win two Olympic golds in Alpine skiing was Andrea Mead Lawrence, who took the women's slalom and giant slalom at the 1952 Oslo Games. On Wednesday, Steve Missillier of France took the silver and teammate Alexis Pinturault the bronze.
CROSS-COUNTRY: Marit Bjoergen captured her fifth career Olympic gold medal when Norway won the women's team sprint. Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg was the other Norwegian skier. Finland took silver and Sweden bronze. In the men's race, Finland took advantage of a fall that slowed its two closest rivals. Russia grabbed the silver, Sweden the bronze.
SNOWBOARDING: Wild grew up in White Salmon, Wash., and applied for Russian citizenship after marrying Zavarzina in 2011. He then joined the Russian snowboarding team. Nevin Galmarini of Switzerland finished second for silver, and Zan Kosir of Slovenia took the bronze. In the women's race, Patrizia Kummer cruised to victory — and Switzerland's sixth gold medal of the games — when Japan's Tomoka Takeuchi missed a gate midway through the second run of the finals.
SPEEDSKATING: Sablikova won her second consecutive gold in the women's 5,000 meters. The Dutch still added two more medals, with Ireen Wust winning silver and Carien Kleibeuker the bronze. Wust now has won four medals at the Sochi Games, including gold in the 3,000 and silvers in the 1,000 and 1,500. Dutch speedskaters have 21 medals overall.
BIATHLON: Bjoerndalen broke the record for overall medals that he had shared with cross-country skiing great Bjoern Daehlie. He also matched his fellow Norwegian's record of eight gold medals. Bjoerndalen earlier won gold in Sochi in the men's sprint biathlon. He can win another medal in the final men's biathlon event of the Sochi Games, the 4x7.5-kilometer relay on Saturday. In the mixed relay biathlon, the Czech Republic won the silver and Italy the bronze.
BOBSLED: The Canadian team of Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse won their second straight Olympic women's bobsled gold. Elana Meyers and Lauryn Williams of the U.S. took silver, and teammates Jamie Greubel and Aja Evans the bronze. Williams became the fifth Olympian to medal at both the Summer and Winter Games. She has gold and silver medals from three Olympic appearances as a sprinter.
CURLING: Canada and Sweden will play for the gold medal in women's curling after winning semifinal games that went to the final shot. In the men's tournament, Canada will meet Britain for gold.


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I may be a carnivore to the core, but I'm also a cheese lover. Thus, over the last seven days I've been trying some of Natural and Kosher's latest selections. These included: Horseradish Cheddar, Olive Cheddar, Part Skim Mozzarella, Goat Kashkaval, Sharp Goat Cheddar, Goat Mozzarella with Red Peppers, Goat Mozzarella with Fine Herbs, Cranberry Pecan Chèvre Goat Cheese, Fine Herbs Chèvre, 2 types of American Slices, Cheddar Cubes, Mexican Blend (Shredded blend of Monterrey Jack, Cheddar and Asadero) and a superb Fitucci Grated Parmesan Cheese. I found them all to be delicious choices. Feeling adventurous I decided to do a white omelette. SYR had been telling me about an omelette without yolks, made with only the egg whites. What's the point you ask? A drastic reduction in calories and the elimination of almost all the cholesterol with no sacrifice of taste!
SYR's Hearty White Omelette
Yield: 2 servings
- olive oil
- 1/2 medium sized onion, chopped
- 1/3 green pepper, chopped
- 1/3 red pepper, chopped
- 1/3 yellow pepper, chopped
- 3 Baby Portobello mushrooms, chopped
- 6 egg whites
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 slice N&K Horseradish Cheddar
- 1 slice N&K Olive Cheddar
- Fitucci Grated Parmesan
- 1 medium tomato
- Parsley flakes
- Saute onion and peppers in a sprayed or lightly greased coated pan till light brown.
- Add in chopped mushrooms. and saute for another few minutes till onions are golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Toss egg whites into pan on low-medium flame till lightly golden add salt and pepper to taste- flip
- Add in suated onions, pepper ch0pped parsley mushrooms and cheese.
- When cheese melts, fold in half and slide onto plate.
- Garnish with tomato slices and sprinkle the whole with parsley flakes and grated Parmesan cheese.
What did we do with the yolks?!? With Purim coming up in a few days they were used for baking, of course.
Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!


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On your Precious Moments wedding cake.
Just 'cuz.
(P.S. Whoever did this is my hero.)
And finally, may the force be with us:
Sam B., Susan E., & Clare, are any of you seeing a white top hat under Vader there? Or is that just me?
Are you about to tell us that today's cakes aren't wrecks? Did you skip Jen's commentary and come right here to yell at us? Well, [announcer voice] let me save you some time! Today's cakes are a blend, yes a BLEND! We took the good, the bad, aaaand the ugly to honor May the Fourth aka STAR WARS DAY!!! We'll return to our regularly scheduled wreckage tomorrow.
Wreck On!
I wonder how many people will say the last one looks like Darth Stewie.
So cute... I love Star wars
A kiss from Spain
I'm so glad you posted that clip at the end. :D
I am pretty sure I want to have a Star Wars wedding cake. That is, if I get married.
Star Wars is a deal breaker...I will never be romantically involved with someone who doesn't love Star Wars.
I think it's clear that the topper on that middle cake has the two guys... awkwardly bumping each other.
I'm just sayin' that sure, it can be overlooked in the heat of battle, but at some point, that's going to cause a few side glances and brisk walk-aways.
Those may be the tastiest looking entrails I've ever seen.
WV: eatal We should eatal the entrails
but if brides come from monsters...or if brides need to warm up inside monsters...
doesn't that make the mother of the bride a monster?
or is it saying a bride needs to kill her mother to warm up?
too much for my brain..
As cool as the dead Tauntaun looks I don't see it as a wedding cake. The concept has a lot of wreck potential. Is hypothermic Luke 1/2 in the belly supposed to symbolize the groom's dead bachelor hood? His future of getting whipped?
I'm just wondering what the grandmother of the bride thought when she saw the caterers wheel that bad boy in.
What I want to know is if the Tauntaun is usually smiling when he is dead? That cake certainly looks like it is smiling and sadly, I've never seen the movie....
But I really do think that last cake is Darth Stewie!
And oh how I love the Vader Cake topper on the precious moments cake, LOL.
OMG I am totally in love with Darth Vader cake.
I think I must have one. NOW. Not for our wedding or anything (though that is coming up), but JUST BECAUSE IT RULES THE UNIVERSE.
That is all.
Darth Vader and Precious Moments together?
There's some kind of transcendant perfection in that.
It's almost as good as the velvet tapestry I once saw for sale of the Holy Trinity-- Jesus, Elvis, and a Mack Truck. One of the great regrets of my life is that I passed up the chance to buy that masterpiece.
"The Force is strong with these cakes." Now, I'm not saying which Force, and I'm not saying it's the same Force for each cake, but it's there, it's definately there. ;-)
I rarely comment, but today I feel obligated. My wife and I love Cake Wrecks. I bought her your book and made a carrot jockey cake for her last birthday:
I'm glad you didn't let Star Wars Day slip by. I work at MailChimp, and we're celebrating with a custom login screen for today only.
May the fourth be with you and thanks for always making us laugh! Jason (& Amy)
I used to think that I was a geek, but I guess I'm just more of a nerd.
That Darth Vader cake looks more like Darth Yoda.
I think nothing makes me happier than a perfectly executed "what the huh?" cake. Tauntaun...you please me.
Went to a wedding this weekend with a lovely wedding cake with a handmade bluebirds topper. Next to it was the chocolate groom's cake with the action figure topper. I'm not up on my fantasy/sci-fi movies, but this appeared to be a flying dinosaur with a samurai warrior astride its neck.
I don't think the guy coming out of the Tauntaun entrails really resembles Luke, he looks like He-Man to me for some reason XD
The Tauntaun is awesome! Creepy-ish, yes, but I've done my share of cakes that are almost too creepy to eat (an Ood, from Dr. Who would have to be on the top of that list.)
I love the fact that it's a wedding cake - I love non-traditional cakes!
May the 4th be with you!
Maybe Darth is officiating for the precious moments figurines?
Thanks for the disclaimer, John, without which you'd likely be in a world of four asterisks.
LOVE Star Wars...
GAGme with the Precious Moments.
Poor Darthcake, though; it looks as if he ran into a taut wire in the dark, and only the top 3/4 of his head was left.
(And it DOES look like an upside-down top hat!)
The dead whatsis cake is very well done. But a little too S-H-I-*-* for me; I don't particularly care for my frosting to be that sh***.
Matte or satiny, yeah. But not downright sh***.
Plus, I prefer to have my dead life forms cakes presented with their eyes closed. I'm picky that way.
ROFL - anyone else think "Darth Ewok" on that last one?
I see how some people might think that last one looks like Darth Stewie. Personally I see the headquarters of the Legion of Doom rising from the swamp.
Why didn't WE think of having an entrailed Tauntaun cake?
We're so boring.
The bracket-parenthesis-bracket after the word "kinky" gave me a nose bleed.
May the farce be with you!!! lol
I'm just happy because today is my birthday and I'm a huge Star Wars geek! My parents took me to see Episode IV when it came out. I was only 3 but that's all it took to get me hooked. My baby shower is coming up next month and I sooo want to have the Darth Vader shower cake!
It seems like gravitational force, specifically,seems to be strong with the last Darth cake. ;)
semi-related to the day:
Hope you enjoy!
Gosh, I feel a little left out. At my wedding we had a plain 3-tier cake that looked like a wedding cake (okay, it DID have pale yellow frosting with chocolate scrollies--if you'd told me I was going to have a yellow and brown wedding I would have laughed you out of the room but it just sort of worked out that way). I'm a Sherlock Holmes and classic cartoons fan, my husband is a computer geek and a Broncos fan...gosh, the possibilities were endless! We failed to take advantage of the possible wreckiness like these folks did! As they say over at the LOLcats site, "oh, the Hugh-manatee!"
I'm getting married on Saturday and a week of disastrous wedding cakes is making me a wee bit nervous. You can't really mess up fresh flowers. Right?
I was worried yesterday when you said it was all weddings this week. I was sad because I thought you wouldn't be able to acknowledge the greatest geek holiday ever. Oh me of little faith!
These are awesome. May the Fourth be with you!
my husband and I really wanted to have Han Solo and Princess Leah as our cake topper at our wedding, but my mother was not going to allow that. Maybe I'll surprise him for our anniversary.
That first cake IS a wreck. You put Precious Moments on a cake, you gotta wreck. Darth is an improvement.
I must say the 2nd Tauntaun cake photo is makes me inexplicably happy. Not sure why.
As far as the last cake: yep, I saw Vader popping out of a top hat. I was thinking some magician was trying to pull a rabbit out of the hat, discovered he was pulling Darth Vader out instead, and forcefully tired to push him back in the hat after using many expletives of surprise/horror.
Ohhhhhh, entrails. cool.
Lori said...
"I'm getting married on Saturday and a week of disastrous wedding cakes is making me a wee bit nervous. You can't really mess up fresh flowers. Right?"
OH, don't you worry a bit!
All that could POSSIBLY happen with fresh flowers is...hmmm, let's see...
This is HARD, because I'm SURE nothing has EVER gone wrong with fresh flowers!
They couldn't POSSibly--oh, I don't know...be delivered to the WRONG PLACE place? Nah--unhoid of!!
Be left in the delivery vehicle too long with the heat blasting and they droop?
Crazy impossible!
Freeze in another delivery vehicle and they die? Fuggetaboutit!
Just try not to WORRY---it'll give you wrinkles.
So Yoda went to the Dark Side, where they have cake. On an upside-down, white top hat. Eeek.
And I must say, it's about time the evil empire invaded the Precious Moments universe--they have so much in common.
@Lori - I didn't think you could mess up whole strawberries and nothing but the topper on the top of the cake, but my wreckerator proved me wrong. May the pixie of delightful wedding confections shine over you on your wedding day.
I still need to find that one color pic of the wedding cake to send in....
My sister actually made a groom's cake that featured Star Wars figures playing baseball... probably have a picture of it somewhere.
That guest post WAS hilarious. The force is strong with this one.
No, Darkwing Duck is the 'terror that flaps in the night.' But otherwise, Darth Vader + precious moments = awesome.
There's something about jet black icing and fondant that isn't really appetizing.
John -- some people just LIKE to yell and complain. It's in their blood.
As to the wedding / Star Wars cakes, I love them! I do think that there should be lightsabers in here somewhere, but perhaps we are ahead of our time...
Is it me, or does anyone else see the Legion of Doom floating headquarters (from Challenge of the Superfriends) instead of Darth Vader on that last cake?
Sorry. Terribly geeky here.
And I *loved* the dead tauntaun. I think I'll try that sometime.
Jen!!! and hubby and various other lackeys, LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog. I can honestly say that you are quite frequently the bright spot in the day here at Little Jewell School. So, in honor of that, I hereby award you the "Sunshine Award" for being such a positive influence on the world wide web! There is a badge for you at my website if you'd like to copy and paste it here. You will also find some guidelines for passing the award on to others. Share the love, join in! Have a wonderful day!
Oh, thank you for the best laugh I have had all day! ;)
Did I hear someone say they once made an Ood cake? I'd bake up a warm plate of internet cookies in exchange for a picture of that!
So glad you decided to celebrate Star Wars Day with us, Jen! (Like I ever doubted you.)
LOL, loved it. And I also was a fan of Darkwing Duck (my fave terror that flaps in the night). Actually rented the videogame so many times the guy at the video rental place sold it to me and my sis for like $3.00.
I would love the Precious Moments-Darth Vader combo in a wedding cake. I would love the Darkwing Duck-Precious Moments combo more ^^!
The tauntaun is actually a groom's cake. I know one of the Stormtroopers from that wedding. =)
Yeah, I'm going to have to disagree with Jen and John the other way--that first one is definitely a wreck. Darth Vader in front of gothic arch windows on a teal carpet atop a flying saucer hovering over Precious Moments figurines? Something in there went terribly awry.
wv: killyses. "'Kill' y ses," Darth Vader grumbled to himself as the Emperor continued his tirade behind him. "'Use the force to strangle him,' he says. If that guy doesn't stop bossing me around soon, I'ma toss him down a shaft."
That first cake is a combination I NEVER expected to see. I don't know whose idea that was, but it's hilarious.
During the reception, do the ushers ask, "Bride's side or dark side?"
I never thought I'd see a Star Wars wedding cake! Jen and John, will there be Cinco de Mayo wedding cakes tomorrow? :D
So glad you didn't pass on Star Wars Day! I'm trying to decide if Vader looming in a menacing fashion over Precious Moments figurines actually surpasses the Vader baby shower cake in coolness or not... And off to read the guest post now!
Nope, fresh flowers never get messed up. They would never say deliver funeral flowers to your wedding by mistake. Or mess up the colors. Or just lose the order altogether.
And just you never mind Sendingtheclowns. They would never freeze, droop, or deliver to the wrong place your flowers. Ever.
Hey you did get a different bouquet to toss vs. the one you carry down the aisle right? Then again, maybe real flower people don't worry about that.
And thanks for the geek fix. Ya know, in case I'm not getting enough from home.
wv: dicen I love my dicen vacuum cleaner.
Williams-Sonoma now has a four-pack of Star Wars cookie cutters and a three-pack of Star Wars pancake molds. Some of the stores will even be visited by a Star Wars character later this summer. (Just so you Star Wars geeks know because these are really great! I had to buy extras for my niece.)
Funny thing is, I got married on May 4th for this exact reason: the horrible pun in "May the Fourth Be With You". (Both of us are Star Wars fans, which doesn't hurt.) There wasn't really a Star Wars theme, but that was definitely the tagline for the whole thing.
(Should have eloped in Vegas and had Darth Vader perform the ceremony, in hindsight.)
Oh where to start today? So much to say.
#1: Thinkgeek.com sells Tauntaun sleeping bags. How cool is THAT.
#2: Precious Moments = -10
Darth Vader = +20
So the cake still comes out as a win in my book.
#3: I will have to dig up my photos of my cousin's wedding cakes, which were awesomely amazing Star Warsian fabulosities. They had 4 cakes, each decorated as a planet-- Tatooine, Hoth, Endor and I think the last one was the Death Star. And their recessional music during the wedding was the awards ceremony music at the end of Episode IV (complete with R2D2 sound effects). It was very hard core geek but in the most adorable possible way. The grandmothers were confused but everybody loved it.
-Liz in Seattle
I totally thought that last clip was going to be the part in Spaceballs where Dark Helmet gets beaned by the doors. I love the "thunk" sound.
And I love how nerdy you are. And how pun-tastic you are.
And this just rolls everything up into one... um... roll. Happy Star Warsing!
do you think the Han Solo/Wookie cake is for .... like .... one of those ... well, I don't know how to put this except, which one do you think is the bride?
Re that first cake: Perhaps all the powers of the Dark Side are required to contain the nauseating cutesiness which is "Precious Moments"...
I love the Darkwing Duck refernce on the Star Wars/Precious Moments cake!!!
As part of the Fighting 501st Legion (the 4000-member international costuming group pictured with Courtney and the Tauntaun cake), let me tell you that we get invited to Star Wars weddings quite often---and we see a lot of Star Wars cakes. If any prospective newlyweds are in search of Vader or Stormtroopers for your own special day (I know you're out there), look no further than 501st.com. Keep up the great cake blog and May the Fourth Be With You.
All right, so May the Fourth is covered... now I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing what you come up with for "Hooray Hooray the 8th of May". *evil snicker*
It's more a boater than a top hat, really. But yeah, definitely a hat.
WV: stpastpe. I just thought it was fun to say... stpa-stpe.
I also saw The Legion of Doom rising up out of the swamp in that last cake. Maybe Solomon Grundy was the decorator.
I don't care what anyone says I would so eat that Darth Vader cake. Then I would promptly brush my teeth 500 times or until all the enamel in my mouth came off just to get rid of the blackish blue staining lol. Now that tauntaun cake.. oh man I would be too sick to even try to eat that at a wedding. The bride would be lucky I didn't puke on her dress it is that realistic. Great job but just plain gross.
Darth Vader. Planet destroyer, Sith lord, and wedding crasher? Perhaps one of the Precious moments figurines was Leia? Just saying.
Will there be Discworld cakes on the Glorious 25th of May?! Do Discworld cakes even exist?
I had not seen the dead tauntaun cake. Oh, my, GOD.
I am in AWE of the icing ENTRAILS coming out of the Taun Taun cake! That is Crazy!! You've got to be REALLY devoted to ask for a cake like that!!
:) Mags
But...but...Darkwing Duck is the terror that flaps in the night! And that's so frickin' cool that you referenced both in one wrecky cake.
I first thought that was King Kong on that first cake ;-)
Harmod Jørgenson
That Darch Vader head looks suspiciously like a sculpture by Ricky Swallow...http://nga.gov.au/Exhibition/softsculpture/Default.cfm?IRN=184232&BioArtistIRN=22706&MnuID=3&ViewID=2
BTW: it is only legal to marry a Wookiee in Massachusetts, Sweden and Kashyyk. An no, a "life debt" doesn't count as a marriage. I know, I checked.
WV: "hanompar" There's something disturbing about this
Love seeing that Miss Courtney's cake isn't a wreck. She's a home town girl and such a wonderful person, always has a way of being able to make one laugh. It would break my heart if one of hers was a wreck, she always gave 210% in high school and I know it must be the same with her cakes. If you are looking for a cake artist in MI look up her website :0)
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A Cake Wreck is any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate - you name it. A Wreck is not necessarily a poorly-made cake; it's simply one I find funny, for any of a number of reasons. Anyone who has ever smeared frosting on a baked good has made a Wreck at one time or another, so I'm not here to vilify decorators: Cake Wrecks is just about finding the funny in unexpected, sugar-filled places.
Now, don't you have a photo you want to send me? ;)
We don't have any copies of Cake Wrecks for sale here, autographed or otherwise. We decided the shipping and handling costs would be too high to make it worth your while. So instead, buy your copies locally or online and then order personalized bookplates: it's cheaper, easier, and I think even looks a bit nicer.
Payments must be made through Paypal, which accepts all major credit cards. Sorry, but that means no checks or MOs or barter-based chickens.
We ship everything first class USPS, and will do our best to have your package in the mail within 2 days of your order.
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What to Watch: Charlie Brown voice actor arrested
Trending topic
The actor who gave a voice to Charlie Brown in the 1960s could spend up to nine years in prison, CNN reports. Peter Robbins, who was nine years old when he first voiced Charlie Brown, pleaded not guilty yesterday in San Diego Superior Court to four counts of threatening and one stalking charge.
Robbins was arrested late Sunday by Border Patrol while returning to the U.S. from Mexico. Victims of the alleged threats and stalking include Robbins' ex-girlfriend, a La Jolla plastic surgeon, and a San Diego police sergeant.
Robbins was the voice of Charlie Brown for four years, including in the movies "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." His official biography says he is now a real estate agent in Oceanside, Calif., and has a dog named Snoopy.
On TV
The 11th season of "Project Runway" premieres tonight, and former winner Christian Siriano is guest-judging. For the obligatory twist, the contestants will work in teams the entire season. Lifetime, 9 p.m. EST.
Hot video: First look at Ashton Kutcher playing lead role in Steve Jobs biopic "JOBS"
GateHouse News Service


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Hillary Clinton Discharged From Hospital
Hillary Clinton has been released from the New York hospital where she was receiving treatment for a blood clot in her head, The Associated Press reports.
The Secretary of State's spokesman, Philippe Reines, says Clinton's doctors advised that she has been making progress on all fronts and that they expect her to make a full recovery.
Chelsea Clinton tweets from Hillary's bedside
Reines also said Clinton, 65, is grateful for the care she received and eager to get back to work. It is not yet known when she will return to the State Department for her final weeks in office.
Clinton was admitted to the hospital Sunday when doctors discovered a blood clot between her brain and her skull during a follow-up exam for a concussion she sustained early in December.
View original Hillary Clinton Discharged From Hospital at TVGuide.com
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HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? Call 1-800-TRY-CHOP
Dr. Falk is a Clinical Geneticist who serves as executive director of the Mitochondrial Medicine Frontier Program. Her translational research lab investigates the causes and global metabolic consequences of mitochondrial disease, as well as targeted therapies, in C. elegans, zebrafish, mouse, and human tissue models of genetic-based respiratory chain dysfunction.
Dr. Ortiz-Gonzalez is a physician-scientist specializing in pediatric neurogenetics. Her clinical work focuses on finding a unifying genetic diagnosis for children with rare neurodevelopmental disorders. Her research is informed by her patients and focuses on understanding how genetic changes, in particular those affecting mitochondrial function, cause disease so we can develop better treatments for these children in the future.
Dr. Nissim is a biochemist and a pioneer in the application of stable isotopes, mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance to study metabolome and fluxome and their coupling to genome in normal and disease states. His long-standing interest focuses on understanding the cause, mechanisms, and outcome of metabolic disorders.


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Here's what would happen if the debt ceiling is breached
Pat Cunningham
My friend and fellow RRStar blogger Ted Biondo seems to think that the media are making too big a deal about the possibility that Congress might fail to raise the debt ceiling (see HERE).
Ted argues that if Congress refuses to act, President Obama, on his own, could "simply pay the principal and interest on government debt before paying other federal obligations."
But, of course, that's not as simple as it sounds.
Ezra Klein of The Washington Post describes the options available to the government — and the consequences — THUSLY:
The choices it will face quickly become ...


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The latest in a series of occasional posts on books I didn't finish and why I didn't finish them
Title: Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease. By Gary Taubes. Knopf, 601 pp., $29.95.
What it is: An investigative report on the diet advice fed to us by government and other nutrition authorities. A major theme is that obesity "experts" have demonized fat on the basis little or no scientific evidence. Refined carbohydrates, Taubes argues, pose a greater threat to health. And those fat-free brownies may hurt you more than foods that have more fat but fewer carbs. Taubes sums up his conclusions in a 10-point list on page 454. Point No. 1 is: "Dietary fat, whether saturated or not, is not a cause of obesity, heart disease, or any other chronic disease of civilization."
How much I read: The prologue and first chapter, the epilogue, and a couple of chapters in between, nearly 100 pages.
Why I stopped reading: I liked this book and, because of it, had a salad for dinner instead of the steamed pork dumplings from the Chinese place. But it develops ideas I'd read in other books and in an article Taubes wrote for The New York Times Magazine ("What If It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?," July 7, 2002). So its arguments, though strong, weren't strikingly new to me. And Good Calories, Bad Calories is getting so much attention, it didn't seem to need me as much as, say, books by obscure poets who live on canned ravioli because those ultra-refined carbs are all they can afford.
Best line in what I read: "Between 1987 and 1994, independent research groups from Harvard Medical School, the University of California, San Francisco, and McGill University in Montreal addressed the question of how much longer we might expect to live if no more than 30 per cent of our calories came from fat, and no more than 10 percent from saturated fat, as recommended by the various government agencies…
"The Harvard study, led by William Taylor, concluded that men with a high risk of heart disease, such as smokers with high blood pressure, might gain one extra year of life by shunning saturated fat. Healthy nonsmokers, however, might expect to gain only three days to three months …
"The UCSF study, led by Warren Browner, was initiated and funded by the Surgeon General's Office. This study concluded that cutting fat consumption in America would delay 42,000 deaths each year, but the average life expectancy would increase by only three to four months. To be precise, a man who might otherwise die at 65 could expect to live an extra month if he avoided saturated fat for his entire adult life. If he lived to be 90, he could expect an extra four months. The McGill study, published in 1994, concluded that reducing saturated fat in the diet would result in an average life expectancy of four days to two months."
Worst line in what I read: None by Taubes. So let's go with a clinker written by the New York Times's Jane Brody, who kept promoting high-fiber diets long after large-scale studies showed that they had few or no long-term benefits: "But dietary fiber … has myriads of benefits," Brody wrote. Taubes quotes this line in a chapter on fiber that debunks much of the media hype about it.
Recommendation? This is not a diet book, but a book in the spirit of Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation and Greg Critser's Fat Land. Don't miss Taubes's brief and low-keyed – but nonetheless damning — analyses of Brody's Personal Health column in the Times.
Published: September 2007 www.aaknopf.com
Furthermore: Taubes is a correspondent for Science magazine who, according to his dust jacket, is "the only print journalist who has won three Science in Society Journalism awards, given by the National Association of Science Writers."
© 2007 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.


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Criminal justice course provides career experiences
Junior and senior high school students who are interested in aspects of the criminal justice system are learning first-hand what it takes to be in the field, thanks to a program offered at Heartlands Institute of Technology.
Heartlands is a career center located at Ionia High School that offers 10 programs including culinary arts, dental occupations, automotive technology, health occupations, aviation technology and plant and animal science to students across Ionia County. Heartlands is part of the Ionia County ISD and is funded by a millage that passed in May of 2010.
The criminal justice program is a two-year program, but second-year students are selected by instructor John Nelson, who makes sure those students are trustworthy, independent, show leadership, had no difficulty in the first year and have the desire to pursue a career in the criminal justice field.
Nelson said the course allows the students to become wiser and more aware of the laws, makes them less likely to become a victim and teaches them defensive tactics and situational awareness.
Materials used in the class include college textbooks, mannequins used for CPR training, RedMan training gear and KeyTrain, which personalizes curriculum based on a student's math, writing and reading interpretation skills. In addition, the course allows students to earn between six and 21 college credits, depending on the college or university the student will be attending.
"This is a step to the next level," Nelson added.
The students also participate in teen court once each month, which allows them to gain experience and knowledge of the criminal justice field within the court system. Each court case, which generally deals with first-time offenders and misdemeanors, is real and completely carried out by the students with oversight from Ionia County Probate Court Judge Robert Sykes.
"They take their role very seriously," said Sykes, adding he enjoys seeing the students involved in the process. "It gives the students and opportunity to see first hand how the court system operates and the importance of a jury."
Students go through a jury selection, take an oath and ask the defendant questions about the incident, details leading up to the offense and reasons for motive. Sykes said he will only intervene during questioning if he feels there is an inappropriate question or if he believes the defendant is being dishonest with his or her answers.
Once the students on the jury finish their questions, they will deliberate and come up with a sentence they feel fits the offense, which can be probation, community service, restitution or other consequences. In return, the defendant has no fines or fees and the case is dismissed.
Portland High School students Tiffany Martin, 17, Jayna Pohl, 17 and Skylar Green, 18, joined the program because of their interest in the career field. They said they feel the course is preparing them for their college journey and allows them to experience what the job is before fully committing to the path after high school.
"I feel like I have a good step," said Green.
The trio also expressed the value of teen court, adding they have learned a lot about the system, some of the consequences of offenses and how different situations are evaluated.
Other activities and educational trips place the students in the midst of the career field. Students are allowed to tour the Ionia County Sheriff's Office and the Ionia County Jail, participate in a simulation firearm training in Kent County, practice in underwater search and recovery training with the Ionia County Sheriff's Office help the Michigan State Police look for the remains of victims of unsolved crimes and even have the opportunity to experience tasing.
"They'll get an experience that, outside of this classroom, they'll never get," Nelson added.
Though he is former member of the United States Marines and former Ionia County Sheriff's Deputy, Nelson said he loves teaching and will adjust the way he instructs to meet the needs of the students and to make the program more successful.
"I think anyone can come in and get something of benefit from this course," he said. "I like that it gives students the confidence to go on to the next level."
For more information about Heartlands Institute of Technology, visit www.ioniaisd.org/Heartlands.
Follow Karin Armbruster on Twitter @ISSKarin
Look for a new article each month on another program offered at Heartlands Institute of Technology.


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REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – The creator of Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda will step down from his current position at Nintendo but remain with the company to work on smaller, more personal projects, Wired.com has learned.
In an exclusive interview with Wired.com on Wednesday, Shigeru Miyamoto, the 59-year-old head of Nintendo's game design department, said that he will move away from supervising the development of massive games like this year's Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Super Mario 3D Land, passing the torch to the younger designers in the company and working on projects that won't take as long to complete.
"Inside our office, I've been recently declaring, 'I'm going to retire, I'm going to retire,'" Miyamoto said through his interpreter. "I'm not saying that I'm going to retire from game development altogether. What I mean by retiring is, retiring from my current position."
"What I really want to do is be in the forefront of game development once again myself," Miyamoto said. "Probably working on a smaller project with even younger developers. Or I might be interested in making something that I can make myself, by myself. Something really small."
Miyamoto said that he's hoping to start work on a project in 2012, and hopefully show the game off publicly within the year.
"In other words, I'm not intending to start from things that require a five-year development time," he said.
Miyamoto, whose creations propelled Nintendo to worldwide prominence beginning with 1981's arcade game Donkey Kong and who is generally recognized as the world's most influential and creative game designer, said he felt comfortable stepping away from supervising the Mario and Zelda games because his staff has done such a good job with this year's critically acclaimed entries in both series.
"I'm saying this because I have a solid reaction from the existing teams," he said. "I was able to nurture the developers inside Nintendo who were able to create something like this or something like that," he said, gesturing to banners in the interview room in Nintendo's office that showed the logos of Skyward Sword and Mario 3D Land.
The reason Miyamoto keeps telling the younger developers that he's going to retire is to send the message that he won't always be around for them to work with.
"The reason why I'm stressing that is that unless I say that I'm retiring, I cannot nurture the young developers," he said. "After all, if I'm there in my position as it is, then there's always kind of a relationship. And the young guys are always kind of in a situation where they have to listen to my ideas. But I need some people who are growing up much more than today."
As for himself, Miyamoto seemed eager to get to work on his new ideas with a smaller, younger staff.
"Anyway, I'm interested in doing a variety of many other things," he said with his usual cryptic smile.
Wired.com's full interview with Miyamoto, including his thoughts on Skyward Sword, making Mario Kart 7 with a Western development team, 3-D gaming, cell phones and more on the future of games, will be published next week.
See Also:- Wired 11.01: Why Nintendo Won't Grow Up


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Stocks finish higher on optimism over budget talks
Stocks started lower Friday but spiked higher shortly before midday as the top members of the House and Senate spoke at the White House following a closed-door session with President Obama.
| New York
Optimism that President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders will reach a deal on the budget deficit and avoid the "fiscal cliff" helped stocks notch their first advance in four days.
The market started lower Friday but spiked higher shortly before midday as the top members of the House and Senate spoke at the White House following a closed-door session with Obama. House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell both said they offered higher tax revenue as part of a deal. Boehner said he outlined a framework that is consistent with Obama's call for a "balanced" approach of both higher revenue and spending cuts.
"It's a good start ... the fact that they were all standing together," said Ben Schwartz, the chief market strategist at Lightspeed Financial, a New York-based broker.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 45.93 points, or 0.4 percent, at 12,588.31, after falling as much as 71 points at mid-morning. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 6.55 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,359.88 and the Nasdaq rose 16.19 points, or 0.6 percent to 2,853.13.
Investor concern that Obama and Congress won't reach a deal on how to cut the deficit has caused a sell-off in stocks since Election Day. Stocks fell Wednesday after Obama insisted that higher taxes on wealthy Americans would have to be part of any deal and that he would not cave to Republicans who have pressed for tax cuts first passed by President George W. Bush to be extended for all income earners.
The Dow is down 5 percent since Nov. 6. If an agreement isn't made, automatic government spending cuts and tax increases are set to kick in at the beginning of next year. The measures total about $671 billion for the 2013 calendar year and could send the U.S. back into recession.
Mitch Stapley, chief investment officer at Fifth Third Asset Management, says that investors and traders are likely to be in for a rough ride until the politicians have brokered a deal.
"Volatility is going to be the hallmark as we go through this process ... It's going to be a very choppy period coming up," said Stapley, who is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The Dow still ended lower for the week, logging a fourth straight weekly decline. That slump has pared the index's gains for the year to 3 percent. The S&P 500 also ended the week lower, and has fallen three of the last four weeks.
Mixed earnings reports also weighed on stocks.
Dell fell 70 cents, 7.3 percent, to $8.86. The computer maker is struggling as consumers switch to tablets and smartphones away from PCs. Dell said that its revenue may fall as much as 13 percent in the fourth quarter. Sears fell $10.99, or 19 percent, to $47.49 after the retailer said sales at both its Kmart and Sears stores continued to tumble.
Superstorm Sandy depressed U.S. industrial output in October, while production of machinery and equipment declined sharply, reflecting a more cautious outlook among businesses, according to a Federal Reserve report.
The Fed says industrial output fell 0.4 percent last month, after a 0.2 percent gain in September. Excluding the storm's impact, production at the nation's factories, mines and utilities would have been up about 0.6 percent.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note edged down to 1.58 percent from 1.59 percent late Thursday.
Among stocks making big moves:
—Schiff Nutrition International, a nutritional supplement company, jumped $9.84, or 29 percent, to $43.76 after U.K.-based Reckitt Benckiser Group offered to pay $42 a share in cash to buy the company. German pharma giant Bayer had offered to buy Schiff in October for $34 a share. Schiff's stock is trading above the most recent offer, suggesting investors anticipate a bidding war may develop.
— Ruckus Wireless Inc., a maker of wireless networking equipment, dropped $2.75 to $13.73 on its first day of trading. That's a decline of 18 percent.
—Foot Locker rose $1.42, or 4.5 percent, to $33.27. Its net income rose 61 percent in the third quarter.